The water resources sector is one of the key sectors facing several challenges in the context of burgeoning population and large scale unsustainable exploitation which will have its consequences for our future generations. More and more areas have to be brought under agriculture to provide the food security to the growing population. The unplanned interventions in the form of deforestation and conversion of forest areas into agricultural land and conversion of agriculture areas to urban centres have its own set of impacts. The adverse effects are visible with reduced water availability and many areas experiencing droughts on a regular basis. | Assessment of meteorological drought characteristics using standardized precipitation index for Ajmer district, Rajasthan, India